


Daily Affirmations

by kusuriurikun



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You
Genre: Art, Character Study, Coffee, Coffee Shops, Gardening Imagery, Gen, Giving back and paying it forward, Graffiti
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26979724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kusuriurikun/pseuds/kusuriurikun
Summary: Sanae Hanekoma is an unusual gardener, in that his particular garden is full of wildflowers (of a sort), and his garden is Shibuya itself.His happiest days are when he can see his wildflowers bloom.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 12





	Daily Affirmations

The angel—whether in the guise of a guerilla artist of many media under his professional name as CAT, or as the eccentric barista of a café known as much for its whatever-works hours of operation as it is for its coffee under his _other_ professional Name as Sanae Hanekoma (proprietor), or even behind the scenes as Producer— _is_ Art in a sense, though this is most obviously apparent in the art he does as CAT as a secret work of his own.

If someone were to ask him how he thought of himself—and knew his kind could never lie, but could only remain silent—he’d probably describe himself not in terms of a guerilla artist, but a guerilla _gardener_ , planting the equivalent of seed-bombs of Inspiration in hopes they’d take root and grow and blossom in the heart of this wonderfully eccentric city he’d thought of at first as his _ward_ (in the sense of watching over it) and now thought of as _his_ ward (in that it was Home, and he very much wanted it to grow up healthy).

He has limits, of course, but—much like the folks who would go out at night and plant little balls of seeds in vacant lots by the light of the moon, like benevolent faeries in black leather—he tries to plant seeds where he can.

They’re not always obvious ones—the CAT mural is a Working, and one designed to attract at first with its riot of design but also to draw people in with all the small detail. He’s proudest of those.

He’s also glad when (in the costume of the barista) he’s able to give someone a smile, a safe place, a chance to wind down, a chance to vent to someone who’ll listen about their problems.

He’ll occasionally leave little seed-bombs here too. A new recipe for a regular; a cute design on the foam of a cappuccino (which he somehow does entirely by hand despite the fact it’s drawn in espresso powder and nutmeg). A doodle on a receipt (written entirely by hand). Just a little _something_ , a little energy put out in the city, a gentle nudging and watering of the garden.

Sometimes he sees flowers blooming from those little seed-bombs, too.

The person who looks at the mural, and learns about all the meaning, and discovers a new sense of beauty. The person with them who learns a little about graffiti artist culture and expands their horizons a little more.

The customer who gives a thank you for the chat and the cat smiley-face in the foam noting that it brightened what was a hard day.

The shy person who sits in the corner and watches and is inspired to write about just how wonderfully _weird_ Shibuya is as a city.

On those days, when he sees the garden he’s carefully tended and sees the blooming flowers, the Music here seems different. Happier. 

He doesn’t think the whole thing needs a reset (he wishes he could make the Composer understand). 

He knows things can’t remain the same forever (he wishes he could make the Conductor understand).

But with a little change, and a little encouragement, and occasionally planting a seed… _well_.

At night, he adds just a bit more detail in his Work, as he goes on to paint a new world in will and Krylon.

And in the day, the inspirations are subtler, but still there, he thinks to himself.

He finishes decorating the foam, this time with the drawing of a butterfly in cinnamon.

He hands the customer their coffee, and is paid, and when the customer finishes and leaves he finds a drawing—of a happy and cute cat--and a _thank you._

 _Sometimes,_ Hanekoma thinks, _the flowers bloom, and the day is just a little brighter._

**Author's Note:**

> I am not entirely sure if this is in Shibuya Contiuum-verse or its own side story, and I'm not sure it matters; the whole idea is the imagery and enjoying the moment (and more specifically, _Hanekoma_ having a chance to enjoy the moment himself).
> 
> Posted for Willow, who had hoped Hanekoma was having a good day, and this led to the thought of "What would he think of as a good day?" Which led to this fic.
> 
> Hopefully this brightens other peoples' days; I think a certain Producer would be happy about this.


End file.
